On a rainy March day in 1869, an officer was buried in St. Petersburg. Behind his coffin to the very gates of the city Lutheran cemetery was Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. The deceased committed suicide. Suicide is a grave sin for a Christian. It is impossible for him to repent and, therefore, receive forgiveness from God. A person to whom life is given from above challenges the Creator, intending to dispose of His gift in this way. According to church canons, suicides are not buried or commemorated. They should be buried in a remote area of the cemetery.
However, this suicide was buried and buried as a sinless Christian. For this, a blessing was received from the bishop. Most likely, the suicide was declared mentally ill, insane at the time of the suicide. Therefore, the highest church authorities allowed the funeral service. Was the officer insane? Or did he voluntarily die for another reason? After all, he had high awards, was a talented military engineer-artilleryman and a brave warrior. I obtained previously unknown information about him by working in the archives. Here's what I found out.
THE WINES OF THE HEIR OF THE THRONE
We are talking about Captain Karl Ivanovich Gunnius (1837-1869). On the Internet, in historical publications, there is no complete biographical information about him. You can find only the date of death, as well as very short and, let's say, not entirely correct information about it. Here is information from the archives of the Museum of Artillery Troops: “He died suddenly from exorbitant and overwhelming work in March 1869, he was only 32 years old. He was not married, was not on leave or out of service … His death greatly slowed down the introduction of the production of metal cartridges in Russia."
The Russian censorship in those and subsequent years did not pass information of negative content regarding representatives of the reigning dynasty. And in the death of this officer, a certain share of the blame lies with the heir to the Russian throne. Therefore, the tragic history was silent for many years. In our time, the authors mention the fate of an officer who was publicly insulted by the Tsarevich, but do not name his name.
Pyotr Kropotkin did not name him in his "Notes of a Revolutionary" either. Here is what is said in the memoirs of the ideologue of anarchism: “I knew an officer in St. Petersburg, a Swede by birth, who was sent to the United States to order guns for the Russian army. During the audience, the Tsarevich gave full scope to his character and began to speak rudely with the officer. He probably answered with dignity. Then the Grand Duke went into a real rage and cursed the officer with bad words. The officer belonged to the type of quite loyal people, who, however, behaved with dignity that is often found among the Swedish nobles in Russia. He immediately left and sent a letter to the Tsarevich, in which he demanded that Alexander Alexandrovich apologize. The officer will also write that if after twenty-four hours there is no apology, he will shoot himself … Alexander Alexandrovich did not apologize, and the officer kept his word … I saw this officer at my close friend's that day. Every minute he waited for an apology to arrive. The next day he was dead. Alexander II, angry with his son, ordered him to follow the officer's coffin. It seems that it was precisely these character traits of Alexander III that were primarily reflected in his relations with people dependent on him. Therefore, he did not take the officer's threat seriously. The Tsarevich, apparently, was already accustomed at that time to different concepts of honor and dignity in his environment."
Karl Gunnius was born on February 23, 1837 into a family of small Livonian nobles. His father was a pastor. In 1857, he graduated from the Mikhailovskoye Artillery School in St. Petersburg in the first category (with honors), with the right to wear an aiguillette. In the rank of second lieutenant, he participates in the war with the highlanders of the North Caucasus. For bravery receives the Order of St. Anne 3rd degree, St. Stanislaus 3rd degree with swords and a bow and a medal. In 1861 he joined the Artillery Committee's Arms Commission. Two years later, he was appointed secretary of this commission. Since 1867, he was a clerk of the Technical Committee of the Main Artillery Directorate. Later he became the head of a new cartridge plant in St. Petersburg.
Here it is necessary to provide an explanation of the trip to the United States. Gunnius and Colonel Alexander Gorlov (1830-1905), a famous scientist, designer and military diplomat, were there on the instructions of the Minister of War. Subsequently, they improved the American Berdan rifle so that the Americans began to call it the "Russian rifle." It was adopted in 1868 by the Russian army under the name "Berdan rifle No. 1", which among themselves the military called the "Gorlov-Gunnius rifle". It was her that Karl Gunnius showed to the heir to the throne. He boldly told the Tsarevich that he was wrong in assessing the weapon, that his opinion was hasty. In response, the heir rudely insulted the officer.
Before his death, Gunnius managed to draw up drawings, prepare tools and equipment for the production in Russia of a rifle and cartridges for it, created using the new technology. Karl Ivanovich dreamed of creating the first Russian machine guns.
PROTEST AGAINST DISHONY POWER
The death of the captain remained, for obvious reasons, unnoticed by Russian society. But the protests of Russian officers against the insult of their honor took place in subsequent years.
The famous Russian statesman Sergei Witte wrote in his "Memoirs" about the suicide of another officer - Pyotr Efimovich Kuzminsky. Emperor Alexander II publicly called him a deserter. And he was the hero of the Turkestan campaign of the Russian army against Kokand and Khiva. For his distinction and bravery, he was awarded three soldiers' St. George's crosses. He was badly wounded more than once, including by poisoned sabers. In 1876 he fought as a volunteer on the side of the Serbs in the war against the Turks.
We read the memoirs of Witte: “When the imperial train arrived in Iasi, we got off the train and stood near the carriage where the emperor was. The Emperor, opening the window, looked into the distance … Suddenly I see that his eyes, fixed on the platform, stopped, and he began to look intently at something and breathed extremely hard. Naturally, we all turned around and started looking in the same direction. And so I see that Captain Kuzminsky is standing there, but already in a Circassian coat with all his Georgias. The emperor, addressing him, says: "Are you the captain Kuzminsky?" He says: "Exactly so, Your Majesty." Then he begins to come closer to the carriage, in order, apparently, to ask forgiveness from the Emperor, and the Emperor tells him: "You are a deserter, you fled from my army without my permission and without the permission of the authorities …" Then the Emperor will tell the chief of the rear of the army, General Katelei " arrest him and put him in the fortress. " And suddenly I see that Kuzminsky takes out a dagger and calmly sticks it into his heart. In order for Emperor Alexander II not to notice this, we all surrounded Kuzminsky: it was too late to take out the dagger, since he half-stuck it into his heart. Having surrounded him so that he did not fall, but stood, we gradually, pressing him, moved away from the car. By this time, other officers arrived, as there were many people on the platform. Thus, we dragged him into the room … and put the dead on the steps … Meanwhile, the emperor did not leave the window, not understanding what was the matter, he kept asking: “What is it? What's happened?" In order to get out of this situation, I turned to the head of the railway, asking him to send the train as soon as possible. The emperor continued to be perplexed and asked me: "Has the time run out, why is the train leaving?" I said, “That's right, Your Imperial Majesty. I am not the boss here anymore, but apparently the train has to leave, because the time is up. " Then, when the train left, we approached Kuzminsky; he was dead … In Kishinev, a telegram came from the imperial train signed by the Minister of War. In it, the emperor deigned to forgive Kuzminsky and "not to plant in the fortress."
Witte further suggests that, in all likelihood, Kuzminsky was reported to the emperor as a man worthy of all praise. Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich probably stood up for the arrested person. But the captain could not be returned …
Apparently, the emperor asked the members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to allow the funeral service for Peter Kuzminsky, arguing that the suicide was severely wounded and, possibly, was in a state of passion.
GENERAL WEAR
We will also write about the tragic fate of Russian generals - Daniil Alexandrovich Gershtenzweig (1790-1848) and his son, Alexander Danilovich Gershtenzweig (1818-1861).
General of artillery D. A. Gerstentsweig shot himself in August 1848 under the influence of a dire moral state. He failed to timely fulfill the order of the sovereign on the entry of his corps into the territory of Turkish Moldova. Unrest began there. He was buried with a funeral service near Odessa. The grave has survived. The general, being a military administrator, helped to equip this part of Novorossiya.
Lieutenant General Alexander Danilovich Gershtentsweig was the Warsaw military governor-general. In July 1861, a new armed uprising against Russia was brewing in the Kingdom of Poland. Gershtenzweig was a supporter of strict measures to end the unrest and in this respect did not agree with the governor of the Kingdom of Poland, Count K. I. Lamberg. There was a public conflict between them with mutual insults. The governor released several active Polish rebels. They were previously arrested on the orders of Gershtenzweig, whom Lamberg did not inform that he was releasing the Poles.
Both generals were listed in the retinue of His Majesty Tsar Alexander II, were adjutants general. Each of them, after a quarrel, demanded the satisfaction of his insulted honor. For this they chose the so-called American version of the duel, that is, suicide by lot of one of the opponents. Two folded pocket handkerchiefs were put in the cap. The scarf with the knot went to Gershtenzweig. On the morning of October 5, 1861, he shot himself twice. He was seriously injured and died 19 days later. Buried in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg. In 1873, his son, Alexander, was buried next to his grave. He was the captain of the Guards regiment and also committed suicide like his grandfather and father. The reasons for his suicide are not listed in reliable sources. All these victims of the insulted honor were buried according to the Orthodox rite.
